Fairy fort / earthen ringfort in Ardsoreen

In poorly drained pasture, at the bottom of a valley. A raised circular area (40.8m N-S; 37m E-W) defined by the remains of an earthen bank (Wth c. 2m; int. H 0.35m; ext. H 2.35m) along the S arc and elsewhere by a scarp (H 2.5m). A broad flat-bottomed intervening fosse (Wth 3.8m at base) is evident all round, the S arc is waterlogged. There is a broad steep-sided outer bank (Wth 7m; int. H 1.75m; ext. H 1.5m) with a flattened top which, where eroded, reveals a stony core. It is incorporated into a field boundary NE-E. There is a drain (Wth 1m) immediately outside the outer bank SSE-SW. The entrance at SE consists of a gap (Wth 3m) in the inner bank, a causeway (Wth c. 4m) across the fosse and a corresponding gap in the outer bank which is now blocked by a field boundary. There is a small irregular cairn (3.5m N-S; 3.3m E-W; H 0.6m) of moss-covered stones to W of centre of the level interior. The banks are overgrown with bushes and the fosse is blocked in places by fallen trees. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Sligo' compiled by Ursula Egan, Elizabeth Byrne, Mary Sleeman with Sheila Ronan and Connie Murphy (Dublin Stationery Office, 2005). Date of upload: 18 January 2008